Coll 28/97 ‘Persia. Diaries. Tehran Intelligence Summaries’ [‎227v] (454/749)

Sa’ed’s policy seemed to be to facilitate the establishment in Persia of a base
for fascist aggression against Russia. Persians must realise that Russia would
not allow Persia again to be a link in the chain of hostile countries that the
capitalist Powers had tried to put around Russia after the Revolution. It was
only the presence of Sa’ed as Prime Minister that prevented the removal of all
misunderstandings. Sa’ed was completely under the influence of Seyyid Zia,
j whose partial policy was notorious. It is perhaps still too early to say that
! the Russians are prepared to swallow the rebuff over the oil concession and that, <
realising that they are losing ground with the Persian people, they would be
glad to resume relations with the Persian Government if Sa’ed could be got rid
of; but there are indications of a tendency that way. More concrete evidence
of a change of attitude is that they have now promised to allot wagons for the
jtransport by rail of about 3,500 tons of grain from the north; and that they
I cancelled a further demonstration which was being prepared for Friday, the
3rd November. This decision may, however, have been influenced by a proclamation
by the Military Governor forbidding the assembly in public of more than three
persons.
3. In the Majlis there is a certain amount of opinion in favour of Sa’ed’s
resigning so that relations can be reopened with the Russians. Meetings of
representatives of Majlis groups have been held to decide who should be his
successor. Dr. Musaddiq is favoured by the majority; but being a Deputy he
cannot, according to the law, become a minister unless he resigns his seat. He
is willing to become I lime Minister as a temporary measure, provided some
method can be found of legalising his resumption of his seat as a Deputy when
he withdraws from the Premiership, i here is some talk of bringing in a Bill
that will prohibit the Government from giving any concessions until after the
v» ai. It is argued that after the passing of such a law Sa’ed could resign
without giving the impression that he had been obliged to do so through lack
of support for his policy.
4. On the 29th October the Deputy, Dr. Musaddiq, made a very lengthy
speech m the Majlis which created some impression. His purpose was to show
that it was not in the interests of Persia that oil concessions should be given
to any foreigners since they upset the political balance and did not profit Persia
^ extent proportionate to their value. He went over a lot of
old history; claimed that the reason why the Russians had occupied North
1 eisia m 1941 had nothing to do with the defence of Persia against the Germans
but was solely to prevent the British establishing themselves there on some pretext
m the vicinity of the Baku oilfields. He reviewed the 1921 Russo-Persian Treaty
with favour, and, at great length, the terms of the A.I.O.C. concession which
he criticised as being unjust to Persia. He blamed the Prime Minister for having
aallied so long with the American concession-hunters and for not announcing
earlier the decision of the Government to postpone consideration of the grant
ot concessions until after the war. It was natural that the Russians who^were
their neighbours, believing that the Government was considering the grant of
a concession to the Americans should themselves apply for a concession The
Soviet Government could say one of two things : either that the concession for
the northern provinces should be given to them to balance the concession given
to the A.I.O.C.; or that Russia needed the concession because she needed oil
In th f j™ 9 as ^ the Ma J lls wouM certainly not approve. In the second case he
urged that the Government should reply that an international company composed
of Persians and a limited number of foreign shareholders should be formed to
exploit the northern oilfields and that the Government should undertake to sell
for a period to be settled by agreement, the surplus oil of the northern fields’.
o. Ihe Tudeh party has published a lengthy manifesto giving the aims of
the party in general and in particular as regards workers, peasants; intellectuals
women, tribes, education and health, finance and economics. Among the nolitical
aims are: the independence and integrity of Persia; democracy; co-operation
with all freedom-loving countries; freedom of thought, speech and pen-
educational and religious freedom for minorities; electoral reform- the
suppression of corruption in the police and gendarmerie. For the workers it
envisages a U topia to be achieved through legislation. For the peasant it demands
an extension of peasant proprietorship by the distribution of Government lands
* k?- f k the P ro P ert y of , Iar £ e landowners; loans of money and machinery the
establishment of schools and hospitals; the improvement of irrigation- the
revision of laws governing the proportion of the crop to be given by "the peasant
to the landowner For women it aims at the right to vote in elections to local
administration, the reform of the divorce laws and the equality of wife and